About Alan Colquhoun
Lived 1921 – 2012 (aged 91). Alan Colquhoun was a British architect, historian and university teacher.
Alan Harold Colquhoun (27 June 1921 – 13 December 2012) was an English architect, historian, critic and teacher.
Biography Colquhoun was born in Eton, Buckinghamshire on 27 June 1921 and attended Bradfield School. He went on to study architecture at the Edinburgh College of Art and the Architectural Association in London. In the Second World War Colquhoun was a captain in the Bengal Sappers and Miners, at Roorkee, India, where he first met future friend and architectural colleague Robert Maxwell. Colquhoun started his career as an architect at London County Council (LCC), and then in the practice of Lyons Israel Ellis where he designed the Bridgnorth Girls' School in Bridgnorth Shropshire, now listed Grade II.
Work In 1961 Colquhoun co-founded the architectural practice Miller and Colquhoun, remaining a partner until 1989. Highlight of their buildings are a noted refurbishment of Whitechapel Art Gallery in London, Forest Gate High School, the Chemistry Building of Royal Holloway College in Surrey, and several houses and housing schemes in London.
Colquhoun taught at the Architectural Association School of Architecture from 1957 to 1964 and at the Polytechnic of Central London (now University of Westminster) in the mid seventies. He was appointed as a professor at Princeton University School of Architecture in 1981, becoming Professor Emeritus in 1991. He also was a visiting professor at Cornell in 1969, and at Harvard University, Cambridge University, L'Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, and Trinity College, Dublin. He died in London on 13 December 2012. It has been translated into French by Michèle Osborn, and also into Turkish, Italian, Catalan, Spanish and Finnish. Colquhoun, Miller and Partners - Architects by Alan Colquhoun and John Miller (1988) New York:Rizzoli. According to WorldCat, the book is held in 188 libraries It has been translated into French by as Modernity and the Classical Tradition: Architectural Essays, 1980-87 MIT Press, 1991. According to WorldCat, the book is held in 448 libraries Modern Architecture (Oxford History of Art, 2002) According to WorldCat, the book is held in 1021 libraries It has been translated into French by Alan Colquhoun as L'architecture moderne. and into Spanish by Jorge Sainz as La arquitectura moderna : una historia desapasionada
He also published works on the architects Michael Graves and on Rafael Moneo and the sculptor Celia Scott.
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Important facts
People in Alan Colquhoun's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
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Frequently asked questions
Who was Alan Colquhoun?
Architect and historian (1921-2012)
When was Alan Colquhoun born?
Alan Colquhoun was born on 27 June 1921 in Esher.
When did Alan Colquhoun die?
Alan Colquhoun died on 13 December 2012.
What was Alan Colquhoun's occupation?
Alan Colquhoun was an architect, historian and university teacher.
What nationality was Alan Colquhoun?
Alan Colquhoun was British.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Alan Colquhoun. https://biography.guide/alan-colquhoun/
MLA: "Alan Colquhoun." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/alan-colquhoun/.
Chicago: "Alan Colquhoun." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/alan-colquhoun/.
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